NOTE TO SELF: Never schedule a dentist appointment at 8 AM on a Monday morning after you've been speaking at a conference all weekend. 

A few weeks ago, I broke a tooth eating pasta. 

How do you break a tooth eating pasta? 

What can I say? I have a gift. 

By the way, why do dental problems always happen on a Friday afternoon when dentists are off golfing? 

A few days later, the dentist was working on creating a temporary tooth when the compressor in his office stopped working. 

None of his equipment worked so I left with half of a temporary tooth. 

For the past two weeks, I've been running around with a gaping hole in my teeth that feels like the Grand Canyon. 

As they say, the show must go on. 

I was in Denver over the weekend speaking at Gary Barnes' Breakthrough Business Mastery Bootcamp. 

Nobody could tell I was missing a tooth, but it felt strange when I was getting ready to speak. 

Things got worse. 

A lot worse. 

I was next in line to speak when all hell broke loose. 

My presentation wasn't working on their computer. 

While I was setting up my computer, a power strip melted down taking out the AV soundboard. 

The AV system was toast so they were scrambling to rig up something that would let us share our presentations. 

My original presentation was called "Is LinkedIn Broken?" and I was going to share seismic trends I've been seeing in the online world. 

Ad revenue for Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn is down. 

The tech sector is taking a beating and digital marketing isn't working like it used to. 

LinkedIn revenue dropped to 26% growth rate last quarter (not a bad growth rate but down from 43% the previous quarter.) 

My speaking time was cut from 45 minutes to 20 minutes so I couldn't share my amazing presentation. 

I had to go with Plan B. 

My computer worked on one screen, but the clicker didn't work so I couldn't advance my slides. 

Everything that could go wrong was going wrong. 

Messed up technology and a huge hole in my mouth. 

I totally winged it, and we did live LinkedIn headline makeovers. 

I shared a few profile headline tips then I had a few volunteers read their before and after headlines out loud. 

We switched the focus of their headline from "it's all about me" to the problem they solve and who they solve it for. 

Nobody cares about your job title or who you work for. 

They have problems and they need someone to solve those problems for them right now. 

I ended up doing about 15 profile headline makeovers in my abbreviated time on stage. 

The crowd was thoroughly impressed that I pulled my sh*t together and kept my composure as the tech gods kicked my ass. 

I'm home today and my temporary tooth is in place. 

Fingers crossed that nothing else happens while I wait for my crown to arrive. 

Have you ever had all hell break loose while you were on stage? 

I would love to hear about your nightmare! 

About the author 

Ted Prodromou

Would you like me to help you?

I'm the #1 best-selling author of Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn for Business and Ultimate Guide to Twitter for Business. People call me America's Leading LinkedIn Coach.

I'm the founder of Search Marketing Simplified, LLC, a full service online marketing agency. The SMS team designs and implements advanced LinkedIn and social media lead-generation strategies for small to medium-sized businesses. SMS will set up and manage your marketing funnels using organic, social and paid traffic.

Did you know I've been working with the internet since 1991, long before Al Gore invented it?

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